Tag - karzai

General Karl W. Eikenberry was right in November 2009 when he urged less support for an Afghanistan ruled by President Hamid Karzai. President Obama and Generals Stanley McChrystal and David Petraeus all wanted a surge. The policy failed. The general won’t say it but he told them so in a second opinion solicited by Obama. Look at the facts. (Image: US Dept of State)

The Bush administration hand-picked Hamid Karzai to be the first ruler of Afghanistan. Following the axiom, nothing good comes out of the Bush administration; is it any surprise that Karzai oscillated between less than effective and a near disaster? Lately, he’s gone nonlinear.

On February 25, Karzai ordered United States Special Forces out of three provinces claiming that Afghan troops tied to the U.S. command were torturing their fellow citizens. As U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel arrived in Kabul on March 11, Karzai accused the U.S. of “colluding with the Taliban.” He added the odd notion that the Taliban sought a prolonged U.S. presence in Afghanistan.

Retired Army colonel David Maxwell of Georgetown University remarked: “I cannot see how we could work with such an apparently delusional leader much longer, but unfortunately I do not know if we have any other good options.” Bloomberg, Mar 11

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered U.S. special forces out of Wardak province. It lies southwest of and near to Kabul, where he resides – isolated and dependent on foreign protection.

The U.S. soldiers are said to have assisted local forces in kidnapping locals and beheading one of them. The U.S. is investigating Karzai’s claims and accepting his order to withdraw special forces from the strategically situated province. A preliminary report, however, finds no evidence to support Karzai’s claims.